It has been recognized that the undesirable vibration or strumming of an underwater cable can be minimized by providing fairings or filament-like strands extending from the cable. The fairings function as vortex shedders thereby reducing strumming and the cable drag coefficient.
One method taught in the prior art for securing the fairing hairs to cables has been the provision of a woven or braided jacket fully surrounding the cable with the fabric jacket serving as a mesh to anchor the fairing hairs. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,440,991, Cubbage, and 3,975,980, Hood, are examples of this type of fairing. The manufacture of such cables is, however, relatively complex as provision must be made both for braiding the jacket onto the cable and for supplying and anchoring the separate fairing hairs.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a hair faired cable in which the fairing is formed by a weaving operation which directly attaches the fairing hairs to the cable without need for a separate jacket.